Allah the Almighty says, “But as Pharaoh was drowning, he cried out, “I believe that there is no god except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am ˹now˺ one of those who submit.”* ˹He was told,˺ “Now ˹you believe˺? But you always disobeyed and were one of the corruptors* Today We will preserve your corpse so that you may become an example1 for those who come after you. And surely most people are heedless of Our examples!” (Yunus 10: 90-92).
First: Pharaoh, due to his arrogance and pride, did not say: “There is no god but Allah Alone,” which is easier than his statement, “there is no god except that in whom the Children of Israel believe” as he claimed to be the Lord of the Worlds although he knew that his claim was false.
Second: Repentance is accepted from the servant if he does not see the signs of death by watching the angels, and in the Qur’an Allah the Almighty says: “Allah only accepts the repentance of those who commit evil ignorantly ˹or recklessly˺ then repent soon after —Allah will pardon them. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”* However, repentance is not accepted from those who knowingly persist in sin until they start dying, and then cry, “Now I repent!” nor those who die as disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful punishment. (An-Nisa’ 4: 17-18)
It was reported in the authenticated Hadith: “Allah accepts a servant’s repentance till he gives up his spirit in death.”
Third: Allah the Almighty tells us in the Qur’an that in man’s lifetime, there is much time to return to Allah the Almighty before he reaches this state (state of death), and thus He said to Pharaoh: “Now” which means: Is this the time for repentance and embracing Islam after believing? You spent your life as disobedient and defiant to Allah the Almighty and his Shari’ah, and you disbelieved in His Messenger and abused His servants using all kinds of bad manners.
Repentance should be before the term reaches you, and we do not know when the term will reach us?!
(We brought the Children of Israel across the sea. Then Pharaoh and his soldiers pursued them unjustly and oppressively. But as Pharaoh was drowning, he cried out, “I believe that there is no god except that in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am ˹now˺ one of those who submit.”) (Yunus 10: 91)
(He was told,˺ “Now ˹you believe˺? But you always disobeyed and were one of the corruptors* Today We will preserve your corpse so that you may become an example for those who come after you. And surely most people are heedless of Our examples!”) (Yunus 10: 91-92)
This is a fact: as indicated in the last Ayah. We can find the mummy, and the bodies of the pharaohs, in the museum in Egypt, Paris, and other museums. Their bodies show the Power of Allah the Almighty to the heedless.
قال الله تعالى:” حَتَّى إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ آمَنتُ أَنَّهُ لا إِلِهَ إِلَاّ الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ* آلآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ* فَالْيَوْمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنْ خَلْفَكَ آيَةً وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا لَغَافِلُونَ ” (يونس 10: 90-92)
أولاً: إن فرعون لتكبره وعتوه لم يقل: “لا إله إلا الله” وهي أسهل من عبارته التي قالها: “لا إله إلا الذي آمنت به بنو إسرائيل” وهو يدعي أنه رب العالمين ويعرف أن دعواه غير صحيحة.
ثانيًا: لأنّ التوبة تقبل من العبد ما لم يرَ علامات الموت بمشاهدة الملائكة، وفي القرآن:” إِنَّمَا التَّوْبَةُ عَلَى اللهِ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السُّوءَ بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ يَتُوبُونَ مِنْ قَرِيبٍ فَأُولَئِكَ يَتُوبُ اللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَكَانَ اللهُ عَلِيماً حَكِيماً. وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّى إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الآنَ وَلا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً”، )النساء 4: 17-18)
وفي الحديث الصحيح: “إن الله يقبل توبة العبد ما لم يُغرغر”
ثالثًا: يحدثنا القرآن أن العمر فيه متسع للرجوع إلى الله قبل أن يصل الإنسان إلى هذه الحال، ولذا قال لفرعون: “آلآن“: أهذا وقت التوبة والإسلام بعد الإيمان؟ وكنت في طول عمرك عاصيا متمردا على الله وشرعه، وكفرت برسوله وآذيت عباد الله بكل أنواع الإيذاء،
فالتوبة تكون قبل أن يدركك الأجل، ولا ندري متى يدركنا الأجل؟
( وَجَاوَزْنَا بِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ الْبَحْرَ فَأَتْبَعَهُمْ فِرْعَوْنُ وَجُنُودُهُ بَغْيًا وَعَدْوًا ۖ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَدْرَكَهُ الْغَرَقُ قَالَ آمَنتُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ( )يونس 10: 91).آلْآنَ وَقَدْ عَصَيْتَ قَبْلُ وَكُنتَ مِنَ الْمُفْسِدِينَ ﴿٩١﴾ فَالْيَوْمَ نُنَجِّيكَ بِبَدَنِكَ لِتَكُونَ لِمَنْ خَلْفَكَ آيَةً ۚ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ عَنْ آيَاتِنَا لَغَافِلُونَ) )يونس 10: 91- 92(
وهذه حقيقة، يمكننا أن نجد المومياء و هي أجساد الفراعنة في المتحف في مصر وكذلك في متحف في باريس ومتاحف أخرى يعرضونها. وهذه إثبات قدرة الله تعالى للغافلين من الناس